Doc McStuffins (also known as Doc McStuffins: Toy Hospital in the fourth season) is an American-Irish animated children's television series produced by Brown Bag Films. It was created and executive produced by Chris Nee and premiered on March 23, 2012, on Disney Channel and Disney Junior. The series is about a girl who can "fix" toys, with help from her toy friends. It features songs written and composed by Kay Hanley and Michelle Lewis. Reruns air on Disney Channel and Disney Junior.
The series received positive reviews due to the show's concept and the main character, as well as its portrayal of African-Americans (Nee stated in 2013 that Doc is African-American, proposed by Disney during her initial pitch, Nee initially only knowing she wanted a girl doctor[1][2]) in a Disney series.[2][3] Chris Nee describes the series as "Cheers for Preschoolers."[4]
On November 16, 2016, the series was renewed for a fifth season by Disney Junior.[5] On April 4, 2018, Lara Jill Miller, the voice of Lambie, said that the final episode of the final season has been recorded, ending the show after five seasons. [6]
Premise
The series chronicles freckled,[7] six-year-old (later seven[8]) Dottie "Doc" McStuffins[9] who decides she wants to become a doctor like her mother, a pediatrician. The show takes place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. She practices her dream by fixing toys and dolls. In the UK, the show was redubbed using British voice actors, replacing the original American soundtrack.
When she activates her magic stethoscope (similar to an amulet or talisman), she can create a variety of supernatural effects, including traveling through time.[10] Her most regular use of it in the show is to cause toys, dolls, and stuffed animals to come to life. They are able to move, speak, hear, see and smell, and she can interact with them. With help from her stuffed friends – Stuffy the Dragon (a.k.a. Stuffy Philbert McStuffins), Hallie the Hippo, Lambie the Lamb, and Chilly the Snowman – Doc helps toys recover, or "feel better", by giving them check-ups and diagnosing their fictional illnesses with an encyclopedia called "The Big Book of Boo Boos" and another encyclopedia called "The Big Vet Book" for her toy pets when she's a veterinarian. In Season four the Big Book of Boo Boos and The Big Vet Book go Hi-Tech in a tablet form.
Each 11-minute episode includes original songs. During ending credits in Season 1, Doc gives advice to viewers about staying healthy. Seasons 1 and 2 have the original intro for the theme song, but in Season 3, the spoken line by Doc at the end of the theme song was re-recorded with Doc's new voice. In Season 3 Doc opens up a veterinarian clinic for fixing toy pets in addition to the regular medical services that she provides for the other toys. In Season 4, Doc's Grandma reveals her own magical stethoscope and teleports her and Doc to McStuffinsville, a magical city populated by living toys, and puts Doc in charge of the McStuffinsville Hospital.
